Helpers pitch in to keep the ball rolling

Fresh from the hospital after suffering a broken hip, Sally Montoya is still piloting the Christmas Basket Program, thanks to her army of volunteers working for weeks to help their highly esteemed leader with her efforts to help children in need.

The program provides a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and gifts for the applicants’ children.

As planned, the program is from 1-3 p.m. Wednesday at the Powell National Guard armory. Sally’s Boutique will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Dec. 29, at the old One Stop Motorsports on Fair Street with gently used clothing and other items free of charge.

Two days before Thanksgiving, Sally Montoya, 85, tripped and fell, breaking her left hip. On Friday, she had been out of the hospital for two days, but was nonetheless keen to run the program, said her son, Mike Montoya.

Neva Slaght, of Powell, was overseeing the layout of Christmas baskets in Montoya’s absence Friday at the armory. Although Sally Montoya was not there, Slaght said she would ensure it was arranged exactly as Sally Montoya would have. “This is all about Sally,” she said.

Slaght has been one of Sally Montoya’s volunteers for 22 years. “No other like her,” Slaght said.

Slaght said she was expecting Montoya to join them at the armory later that day.

Montoya had undergone surgery in both knees so her recovery may be slow, Mike Montoya said. A friend loaned Sally Montoya a reclining chair that can raise her into a standing position. “Mom has such wonderful friends here,” he said.

“I have to use a walker and I do have a wheelchair if I have to go out,” Sally Montoya said from her home Friday morning.

“Encumbered physically, but not spiritually,” said Dave Blevins, Powell Council for Community Services chairman.

The Christmas Basket Program is under the umbrella of Powell Council for Community Services.

“We’ll be ready for the 23rd,” Sally Montoya said with confidence.

Sally Montoya may be temporarily laid up, but she’s not out of commission by any means.

“I can still yell orders,” she laughed.

No slackers on Montoya’s team.

“We’ve got a whole crew of people she taught well and they’re handling it,” Mike Montoya said. “Mom’s got it down to an art so we know what to do.”

Thanks

ABATE (A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments), a motorcycle club, raised $420, which Mike said he’ll use to purchase $20 gift cards for program kids 17-18 years of age. The U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots was delivering presents for baskets Friday.

The Powell Police Department always takes the basket applications throughout the year for people down on their luck needing a helping hand from the council, Blevins said. “The Police Department has been wonderful. Without their help it wouldn’t work,” he said.

Mike and his wife, Sarah, share the same spirit of Christmas as Montoya. “Christmas, we feel is for families in need. That’s what Christmas is about.”

Sally Montoya has headed the basket program for many years. “I think this is her 66th year,” Slaght said.

“I’m so proud of her,” Mike said. “All these years she’s put into helping other people.”

“Your work has created a community awareness of those less fortunate and has spurred a response for over half a century,” Blevins wrote to Montoya in 2014 while he was a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives. “You have left an indelible mark on everyone you have touched, those you have motivated to help and those you have helped; affording all dignity in their lives.”

The council’s coffers have just about run dry after purchasing the baskets’ food and toys, Blevins said. Monetary donations may be sent to Powell Council for Community Services, P.O. Box 794, Powell, WY 82435.